Gift
by dbc357
Summary: B-day fic in honor of Ginji's birthday, April 19th. Ban brings Ginji on an adventure on Ginji's birthday. Friendship fluff.


**Author's Note: I'm back with a GetBackers story. Yay! It's a fic I decided to publish in honor of Ginji's birthday (April 19****th****). This little drabble popped into my head and demanded to be written down, and who can say no to Ginji? XD**

I awoke by the familiar purring sound of the engine of the Subaru 360. I blinked against the sunlight shining through the car windows as I opened my eyes. Ban-chan had his gaze focused on the road and a cigarette was dangling from the corner of his mouth.

"Ban-chan?" I asked drowsily.

"Yeah?"

"What's going on? Where are we going?"

He grinned mysteriously. "You'll see."

I didn't know what time it was, but it was early, and I was still sleepy. I let the sound of the engine lull me back to sleep. It was okay that I was clueless as to where we were going and why. I trusted Ban-chan more than anyone. He obviously had something in mind and I was comfortable with letting him handle such things.

I still woke up now and then during the drive and took a peek out the window when I got a chance. At first, we passed by the skyscrapers in the city. The atmosphere soon changed to small houses with gardens as we reached the suburbs. A long part of our journey was made through the countryside where only the trees were swishing by. It was an unusually warm and sunny day so the car windows were open. The air was clean and fresh.

The car was suddenly pulled into a stop and Ban-chan nudged my shoulder to wake me up. "We're here. It's time to wake up, sleepyhead."

"Where are we?" I asked sleepily.

Ban-chan smiled playfully. "Take a look out the window."

I rubbed my eyes and sat up to do what he said. Before my eyes, an endless ocean stretched out and the sunshine made it glimmer. I was stunned, never having seen the ocean before. In my excitement, I flew out of the car to get a better look. The car was parked on a piece of grass next to the road, and the grass soon became sand. We were at a beach, a secret and hidden place. By the look of it, not many people came here.

I marveled at the sight and breathed in the air, letting the cleanliness of it rinse out my airways. Ban-chan came to stand by my side.

"So what do you think?" he asked.

"It's beautiful, Ban-chan!"

He put an arm around my shoulders and leaned against me in his usual carefree slouch. His hand that was capable of 200 kg grip was light as a feather as it ruffled my hair.

"Happy birthday."

I smiled brightly at him, happily surprised he remembered my birthday and that he had taken me here. "Thanks, Ban-chan."

Birthdays had not been celebrated in Infinity Fortress. We had been too busy fighting to stay alive. Even now, it was not natural for me to think about them, especially not my own. It was insignificant. Only one day every year really mattered to me, the anniversary of the GetBackers. Even though he never said it, I knew that day was important for Ban-chan too.

It wasn't always this warm and sunny in April, but we were lucky today. I felt the sun warm the skin of my face. It was high up in sky so it must be close to noon.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, sure!"

Ban-chan walked a few steps back to the car. He started rummaging through the contents in the trunk. He came back with a few blankets and basket.

"Hey, Ginji, check out what we go from Paul and Natsumi."

"Awesome!" I exclaimed when seeing all the tasty treats in the basket.

I helped my friend to spread out the blankets and we sat down. In the basket we found some really delicious food – sandwiches, grapes, berries, water and coffee. It wasn't often we could indulge ourselves like this so we eagerly attacked the food like starving wolves. I stole the last grape from under Ban-chan's nose.

"Hey, I wanted that one!" he protested.

"You can't have it!" I teased. I jumped up and dodged his incoming fist. Ban-chan immediately flew up to come at me.

"Get back here, you little thief! You're seriously in for it!"

I started running while laughing at Ban-chan's temper. He chased me around and eventually caught me. He gave me a noogie, but in an affectionate way that only he could master. When I just smiled at him, he grumbled something inaudible as he went back sit on the blanket again. I made my way back too.

"Hey, Ban-chan, let's explore the beach."

"Not interested," he said curtly. He reached inside his pocket for a lighter and cigarettes and lit up. I kneeled beside him and tugged impatiently at his shirt.

"Come on, Ban-chan, it's not fun without you!"

He just grunted. "If you want to explore, then go ahead. I'm comfortable here." He lay down on the blanket, putting his arms under his head.

"Please, Ban-chan?!"

"I've seen it all before, Ginji. This is for you."

I would have liked him to go with me, but I was too excited and impatient to care. For now, I was content with having him nearby. I took off my shoes and west before I danced away over the heated sand.

"Just be careful by the water. Knowing your clumsy tendencies, you're bound to drown or something and I don't feel like getting up to save your ass," Ban-chan muttered.

I just smiled to myself. It was just his way of telling me to watch out. I could swim and the water wasn't deep until further out, but I wasn't used to water after growing up in Infinity Fortress, so it was wise to at least have some respect for the blue depths of the ocean.

It was such vulgar comments that would make people wonder why I chose to hang around Midou Ban. However, I knew he was just misunderstood. His insults and scolding spoke volumes to me. It was just frustration and worry over the trouble I often ended up in. He never said it out loud, but I knew our friendship meant a lot to him as well.

The investigation of the beach kept me busy for a long time, maybe even hours. I lost track of time, letting the mystery of the beach and ocean sweep me away. The heated sand warmed my feet. The cold water swirled gently around my ankles. The grass smoothly tickled between my toes. The warm breeze softly brushed my face. Every stone I found had a different shape. The cliffs had thousand of unique cracks in them that I followed with my fingertips.

Eventually, I couldn't keep it all too myself anymore. I had to show Ban-chan everything I had seen and found. I went over to drag him to his feet. He grumbled and tried to protest, but he knew he had put it off long enough. He had of course foreseen that this would happen. In my excitement, I jumped onto him to ride on his shoulders.

"Hey, I'm not a fucking mule!" he protested.

I just smiled at his protest. He didn't attempt to cast me off, just sighed and went in whatever direction I pointed. It sometimes amazed me how Ban-chan never lost his balance when I tackled him. He was strong of course, and we were pretty much of the same height, but I weighed more and was off a heavier build. Ban-chan was like a stable wall that I could lean against.

"How did you know about this place? It's amazing."

"Maria took me here a few times when I was a kid." (1)

"I'm glad you remembered it," I said happily.

When I showed him things, he patiently explained the mechanisms behind it. Ban-chan was smart and knew a lot of things. I didn't always understand what he said, but he explained in a way that was easy for me to grasp, so most of it I comprehended.

"Ban-chan, how come you know so much?"

"I read, and I pay attention. You should try it sometime."

Ban-chan had an answer to all of my questions. He had a calculating mind, so when trouble arose, he could put together pieces of what he knew in order to solve the problem, like a puzzle. As for me, I went with my gut feeling most of the time. It worked out for us. Ban-chan knew what I didn't.

As the late afternoon came, we both stretched out on the blanket. Ban-chan had a new cigarette in his mouth and I was sleepy from all the new impressions on my senses. We lay there until it started getting dark.

Ban-chan got up and lit a fire that we grilled marshmallows over. We had finished them all except for one. I put it on a stick and held it over the fire. When it was done, I took it off and started moving it towards my mouth, but suddenly the marshmallow was gone.

"Ban-chan, that one was mine!" I pouted.

"Hey, man, you stole my grape before, so it's only fair," he muttered.

I was about to protest some more when the sky caught my eye. I was amazed by all the twinkling stars, so clear outside of the city. I lay down to get a better view. Ban-chan moved beside me, also stretching out to gaze up at the sky.

"Hey, Ban-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"How many stars are there?"

"I don't know. Nobody knows, Ginji. There are so many of them that no one could possibly count them all," he explained patiently.

I let his words sink in and a pleasant silence fell. I let my eyes scan the sky and a specifically bright star caught my attention.

"Look over there! What's that?" I said and pointed.

Ban-chan let his gaze flicker to where I was pointing. "That's the Polaris star."

"It's very pretty," I said while admiring it.

"It shines brightly and doesn't move. That's why sailors used it to navigate when they were at sea in the past."

Ban-chan continued to tell me everything he knew about stars, planets, and the universe. He showed me all the constellations that could be seen. I drank in every word. It was probably after midnight when we finally put out the fire and went to sleep in the familiar little car.

"Hey, Ban-chan?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks. This was the best birthday I could ever wish for."

"Yeah, sure, it was no big deal," he mumbled, drifting into sleep.

It was a very big deal for me though. I pondered everything I had seen, experienced and learned during the day. It made me feel very tired suddenly. This experience had been a great gift. However, I realized what had made it so great was another great gift. The friendship with Ban-chan was a gift to me. Come to think of it, he was like star that lit up my existence. I smiled to myself and finally gave into sleep.

**Author's Note: So what's the verdict, my friends? Yay or nay? I had a good time writing this though actually. I'm thinking about doing one for Ban's birthday too. *looks up Ban-chan's birthday* December 17****th****. We'll see what the future brings. Hehe.**

**Maria appears in the manga. She's a witch, an apprentice to Ban's grandmother. Ban lived with her for many years.**


End file.
